The Sides and All the Corners
by netgirly2k
Summary: It occurs to Belle that in this world, even more so than their own, there are all manner of different beasts.


When it's Ruby's Granny who comes to unchain her Belle's heart leaps into her throat.

"-Ruby?"

"No. No," says Granny, releasing her. "She's fine. David proved that she didn't kill Billy, and the mob has given up and gone home. Ruby is-" they both start when they hear the wolf howl in the distance "-running. Foolish girl."

Belle rubs her wrists and her relief turns bitter in her mouth.

* * *

It's not the next day but the day after when Belle opens the library to find Ruby half-asleep on the top step, long legs drawn up to her chin and a take-away cup from Granny's cradled against her chest.

"It's cappuccino," Ruby says, scrambling to her feet, rubbing sleep from her eyes, and offering the cup to Belle.

"I was asleep yesterday," she adds. "I would have come then, but the first day after wolfstime I'm out cold. Thank you, for trying to help me, and for believing in me. Thank you for not hating me when you found out about the wolf. I'm sorry I chained you up in your own library, and I'm sorry that I didn't come back myself to let you out... and," Ruby finishes wryly, "I'm just now realising that I should have brought more than cappuccino."

Something inside Belle loosens. "Come upstairs," she tells Ruby. "I can open late just this once."

The caretaker's apartment above the library is sparsely furnished and largely filled with books. Most of what Belle has, beyond the necessities, was pressed upon her by Ruby.

("Go on, take it," she'd say of the chairs, or crockery, or whatever it was she was trying to convince Belle to take on any given day, "it's only taking up space at Granny's." Trying to make it sound like Belle was the one doing her a favour.)

Belle puts the now cold cappuccino into the microwave to warm up while Ruby leafs through one of the books that litter, and in some cases double for, Belle's furniture.

It's something that Belle has always found charming, she's never quite understood people who can walk into a room full of books and not be dying of curiosity to know what's inside them.

Of course, she's still not sure that she wants to be charmed by Ruby Lucas today.

The microwave dings and Belle splits the coffee between two mugs - liberated from the diner by Ruby along with plates, cutlery, and half a dozen frozen lasagnas the weekend that Belle moved in here.

"That was meant to be for you," Ruby says.

"I found you sleeping on my doorstep, I think you need the caffeine more than I do."

"Yeah, sorry. Turns out that in this world the second day after wolfstime isn't great either." Ruby accepts the coffee gratefully, her fingers linger against Belle's and she says, "I really am sorry about the chains."

"Ruby... have you read my story?"

"What, in Henry's book, you mean? No, I guess I thought it'd be an invasion of privacy or something. Why?"

"I-"

Ruby knows that Belle was involved with Rumpelstiltskin, knows that for some reason she has twenty-eight years worth of curse memories that don't include such things as hamburgers and iced tea. But she doesn't know that Belle was Rumpel's prisoner, or later and much worse, the queen's.

It makes Belle feel better and guilty all at once, that Ruby has dragged herself here when she should clearly still be in bed sleeping off the full moon, even though she doesn't fully understand why Belle was so upset, just that she _was_ upset.

"It doesn't matter, truly," Belle says. "Drink your coffee."

* * *

Ruby opens the diner early, and works late at the bed & breakfast. After the lunchtime rush she escapes to the library.

She brings coffee, usually; pie, occasionally.

Somehow Belle never gets around to telling her that she should spend her precious free time doing something more fun than helping Belle catalogue books.

Today Henry and his classmates are in working on a school project, they're making more noise than is probably appropriate, but Belle can't bring herself to tell them to quiet down. There hasn't been a public library in Storybrooke for twenty-eight years, and it should be enjoyed.

Ruby nudges Belle's knee with her own and tilts her head towards where Henry has left his book lying open on a table. "You can read my story, if you want to. There's nothing in it that you don't already know, and the wolf looks a little cuddlier than I think it should, but Henry says that I'm really kick-ass in it."

Belle chuckles softly at that and says, "I'm sure you are."

* * *

Afternoons that Ruby absolutely has to work, Belle has lunch at the diner. She's there one day, with a sandwich and a glass of iced tea, intermittently looking up from her book to watch Ruby wipe down tables, when Henry walks in with the queen.

It's the first time Belle's seen Regina since Jefferson helped her flee the hospital. Ruby keeps her caught up with all the town gossip, so Belle knows that Regina has renounced magic and is trying to rebuild her relationship with her son. But as soon as she walks in all Belle can see is the queen who locked her in a tower, the mayor who trapped her in a padded cell, appearing periodically to taunt her with her own powerlessness.

Belle freezes, just like she used to, and for the first time ever it works and Regina passes by without so much as glancing her way, her attention entirely focused on Henry.

Ruby notices, though, coming to a stop at Belle's booth. "Hey-" she says, and when she gets no response she squeezes Belle's shoulder gently and repeats, "Hey. Come with me, okay?"

They end up perched on the end of Ruby's bed in the inn.

"Thank you," Belle says.

"You're not the only one who can recognise a girl in trouble, you know. Do you want to talk about it?"

Belle's sure that Ruby would let her sit here in silence, if that's what she wanted. Knowing Ruby, she'd probably offer to scout the diner to make sure Regina had gone before Belle came back down.

But there's such soft concern in Ruby's eyes and Belle is reminded that's there's a reason why this girl was her first friend in Storybrooke, and so she tells her everything. How Regina tried to use her to break Rumpel's curse, how the queen had locked her in a lonely tower of her palace and taunted her with the knowledge that Rumpelstiltskin and her father both believed her dead at the other's hand, how even the Dark Curse hadn't meant an end to her imprisonment, only that she no longer knew _why_the mayor was keeping her locked away.

Belle isn't sure what she'd expected Ruby's reaction to be - when Rumpel had found out about Belle's imprisonment he'd brought magic to this world and set a soul-sucking wraith on Regina - but Ruby loops her arms around Belle's shoulders and pulls her into a warm hug.

"I could ask Granny to ban her from the diner," Ruby says.

Belle hiccoughs a little laugh against Ruby's neck and doesn't feel scared any more.

* * *

"Have you ever been in love?" Belle asks and Ruby nearly chokes on a mouthful of cheese.

They're finally having a girls' night that doesn't involve chains or torch wielding mobs; instead it involves cheese, wine, and sitting cross-legged on the floor of Ruby's bedroom for reasons that pass understanding.

"I'm sorry," says Belle, offering Ruby the wine as soon as it seems like she can breathe again, "I don't mean to pry-"

"No, I- I thought I was, once. There was a boy from my village, Peter, but that was before I could control the wolf in me, when I truly was a monster. He never stood a chance..."

Ruby trails off and takes a big gulp of wine, and it's the wine Belle blames for the fact that she suddenly wants to tell Ruby, with great earnestness, that whatever terrible deeds she's done in her past don't define her, and that Belle for one thinks she's really kind of wonderful.

Whatever bitter memories had been brought up Ruby must have managed to swallow along with her wine because a shadow of her usual smile is back when she looks at Belle and says, "And then... Okay, you can't laugh."

Belle holds her hand over her heart. "I solemnly swear."

"Later, I thought I might be in love with Snow White."

Belle is genuinely a little shocked at that. "David's _wife?_"

"Before she was David's wife, Belle. We were living in the forest together. She was running from the queen, and I was running from the wolf. We were going to find a nice little cabin in the woods."

"What happened?"

"She met Charming, and he was so obviously her Happy Ending that even if I could have stood in their way I never, ever would."

"I'm sorry," says Belle, and means it because Ruby deserves a happy ending almost more than anyone else Belle has ever met, even though she of all people knows that true love and happy endings don't always go hand in hand.

"No, don't be silly. It was- I guess Ruby would have called it a crush, Red didn't have that word so she called it love. You'd have been able to tell the difference better than me. I mean, that's what you have with Gold isn't it, true love?"

"Yes..." says Belle, but must have sounded less sure than she once would have because Ruby says, "What's wrong?"

"It's just, love is a lot more complicated in this world."

Ruby clinks their glasses together. "Amen to that."

* * *

It was true that people didn't really have crushes back in their world; there were arranged marriages and True Love, and really nothing in between.

With Rumpelstiltskin it had been love; can't eat, can't sleep, curse-breaking love, and in Storybrooke all that had been combined with the relief of finally being free and able to remember.

With Ruby, it's more like Belle's awareness of the other woman is heightened. When Ruby sits next to her Belle is aware of everywhere their bodies touch, sometimes long after Ruby has stood up, Belle notices how she chews on the pencil from her order pad when the diner is quiet, and she finds herself unconsciously making lists of the foods Ruby seems to like most, the books her fingers linger over longest when she's helping in the library.

If this is a crush, Belle thinks, then she likes it.

* * *

"You look just like Granny," Ruby says when she's told Belle that she intends to spend the next full moon running in the woods.

"Flatterer," says Belle.

"I just mean she frowned like that too when I told her I wouldn't be wearing my hood."

"What if there's another mob, Ruby?"

"Spencer isn't going to be stirring people up this time, and now I know that I won't hurt anyone." Ruby leans over and presses a quick kiss to Belle's cheek. "I promise I'll be careful."

* * *

Belle doesn't sleep well come wolfstime; it's the howl of the wolf that rouses her, but it's straining to hear the sounds of a mob that isn't there that keeps her awake.

Granny's serving in the diner when Belle arrives and waves her through with a good-natured grumble of, "You know the way."

She knocks at Ruby's door and gets a sleepy, "C'm in, Granny," by way of a response.

Belle pushes the door open and says, "It's not Granny, sorry."

Clothes are strewn from the door to the bed and Ruby appears as a head of tousled hair and a lump under the covers. She blinks blearily up at Belle and extends a hand from inside her cocoon of blankets. "Hey, Belle."

Belle steps into the room and takes the offered hand. "Hey yourself, sleeping beauty."

"Nah, wrong fairytale," says Ruby, bringing Belle's hand up to her mouth and brushing her lips over Belle's knuckles. "I promised you I'd be careful and I was, I'm fine."

* * *

Belle hasn't read her own story, not any version of it, but she asked Henry and apparently it's called _Beauty and the Beast._

It occurs to her that in this world, even more so than their own, there are all manner of different beasts.

* * *

Ruby is tall, and Belle realises just how tall when she kisses her in the library stacks.

Even wearing her tallest heels Belle has to stretch and nearly sends them both sprawling in the General Fiction (A-C) aisle. Ruby catches them both with reflexes born of the full moon, tightening her grip on Belle's upper arms, then ducking her head and kissing her again.

The kiss, well, it wouldn't break even the most half-hearted curse - not that Ruby is cursed; if she believes that she can be both girl and wolf then Belle is determined to think so too - their teeth clank together, and when Belle tries to right her balance she stands on Ruby's toes, and eventually they break apart giggling.

It's nice though, and Belle takes Ruby's hand to lead her out of the stacks, suspecting that this might go better if they were sitting down.

* * *

The next morning Belle opens the library to find Ruby clutching two cups of coffee and smiling shyly. "Hi."

"Hi. Come in."

Upstairs, seeing Ruby standing among all her books, awkward and hopeful, Belle is struck by a feeling of profound wrongness.

"Ruby, I need to run out for a minute."

"Oh." Ruby's no good at keeping the disappointment from her face, it's part of why Belle likes her so much. "Okay, I'll-"

"No. I mean, stay. Make yourself at home. I won't be very long, there's just something I have to do."

"Belle, if this is a hint-"

"It's not," Belle says, gathering up a sweater. "It's truly not. Just- wait for me, please?"

Ruby nods and Belle gives her hand a quick squeeze before leaving.

* * *

The bell over the shop door rings and Gold smiles widely when he sees it's her. "Belle."

"I kissed Ruby Lucas," Belle says, before he can say anything else. "I didn't want you to hear it from anybody else."

"Do you," he begins awkwardly, "do you love her?"

"No," says Belle, and thinks that maybe that's no bad thing. "But I like her, a lot. She's good to me, and being with her is easy and it's fun and that's-"

"What you need," he says, sad and resigned.

"Yes, I'm sorry, but right now, yes."

"Do you know what I like about this world, Belle? Love here isn't the blessing and the curse it is in ours, it's-"

"Complicated," Belle finishes. She's already turned towards the door when Rumpel's voice stops her.

"I promise not to hurt your she-wolf."

"That wasn't... I didn't think... Rumpelstiltskin, that wasn't what I came here to ask."

"I know. Still, if she asks, you can say that I promised."

Belle smiles softly and thinks that she will miss him, truly.

* * *

Belle opens the apartment door to see Ruby perched at one end of her couch, coffee cups balanced precariously on a stack of books. Nerves flash across her face before she schools herself to smile. "Hey," she says.

In response Belle takes a seat on the other end of the couch, scoots up next to Ruby, and presses a kiss to her cheek.

"_Oh,_" says Ruby, turning her head and catching Belle's mouth with her own. "So not a hint, then."

"_Really_ not a hint," agrees Belle, smiling against Ruby's lips.

This is her life in Storybrooke now: coffee, and books, and being able to kiss Ruby whenever she wants.

Belle leans back against the cushions and tugs Ruby down on top of her. She thinks that just like there are different kinds of beasts, in this world there are just as many different kinds of love.


End file.
